


collection: riddlergordon drabbles

by riddlersgordon



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: 500 Words Challenge, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, One Word Prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-12-29 23:02:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18303563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riddlersgordon/pseuds/riddlersgordon
Summary: one word prompts challenge on tumblr; all drabbles will be 500 words or less.tags will be in the summary/notes of their respective drabble to make it easier to navigate. :)





	1. scrosciare

**Author's Note:**

> n.b. this is a new ao3, because my old pseud started malfunctioning. 
> 
> \--
> 
> you can find me on my riddlergordon [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/riddlersgordon) (:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tags: canon divergence, season 1, established relationship, emotional hurt/comfort, light angst, worry, idiots in love, pov jim gordon.

> _; the action of rain pouring down or of waves hitting rocks and cliffs._
> 
> && ——

Long day. Then again, it seemed like this had been months of long days ever since he had come to Gotham. Still, Jim supposed this particular week had been the longest in a long time. He got to bed when Ed was already asleep, and left without even having the time to eat breakfast with him, either. He was well aware of the toll being a detective could have on his relationships, but he had not expected finding Ed outside in the downpour rain, completely drenched.

“Ed?” Frowning, Jim rushed out of his car, taking his coat off to drape it on Ed’s soaked shoulders. 

Ed seemed completely unfazed, looking up at the night sky. 

“Did you know that in Italian, the word  _scrosciare_ both means the action of rain pouring down, or of waves hitting rocks and cliffs?” Ed said, finally looking down at him. He smiled, as though he didn’t notice the time, or the terrible weather even though he was speaking about it.

“How long have you been out here, Ed?” He didn’t answer. Jim sighed, before carrying on. “Come on, let’s get inside.”

Ed didn’t move. He seemed lost in a trance. His smile however ultimately vanished, and he suddenly seemed very grounded. “I was worried,” Ed began, “It has been several nights.” 

“I know, I’m--”

“I thought something might have happened to you. I thought about going to the GCPD, or try to find you, but I realized that if I did that, I’d be in your way, and make things worse. But I didn’t want to get back inside and wait. So I stayed here. And it started raining.” Ed then chuckled, shaking his head. “I must sound ridiculous. I just wish there was something I could do besides sitting at home and worrying.”

Jim tilted his head, gently cupping Ed’s face in his hands. He was drenched too, now, but he didn’t care. The problem was, he didn’t know what to say to make it better. Perhaps talking wasn’t the answer, and so Jim instead chose to kiss him, slowly, gently, lovingly. Apologetically, even, if he was capable of conveying such an emotion through his kiss.

When he pulled away, he leaned his forehead against his, eyes still closed. 

“I love you, Jim. I’m afraid I’ll lose you,” Ed whispered, prompting Jim to open those blue eyes of his to gaze at the man he so hopelessly wanted to make happy, yet only seemed to torment with worry. 

“You won’t,” Jim assured him, even if, this was something he couldn’t promise. He stroked his cheeks with his thumb, leaning forward to kiss him once more. 

When he pulled away, a hint of a smile curved his lips. 

“I love you too.”


	2. aspectabund

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tags: falling in love, endearment, fluff, birthday, pov jim gordon

> _;_   _letting emotion show easily through the face or eyes._
> 
> _& & ——  
>  _

Jim had found out relatively quickly that Ed was easy to read, once you paid attention. How Ed’s eyes lit up when Jim would answer a riddle had the first thing he had noticed. It was cute. Beyond knowing that riddles were Ed’s way to communicate and Jim didn’t feel the need to question that like everyone else, he found himself wanting to answer the riddles simply to watch Ed’s excitement increase by a tenfold when Jim got it right.

Luckily for Jim, he always got it right.

Then, the more time he spent around Ed, the more he started to notice. For instance, his eyes lit up in a different kind of way when Jim simply bid him good morning, or a simple nod or wave when they crossed each other’s paths. It was something so easy, so simple, and yet, it seemed to mean so much more to him than just that.

Jim would never forget Ed’s reaction when he first kissed him. It had been an impulse on his part, really, but Jim feared it had sent Ed into shock. The next few kisses, however, and Jim had been able to find a brand new look in his eyes that was reserved only for him. 

There was a different glint in his eyes when he called him ‘Jim’ or ‘Detective’. Both held so much admiration, happiness...But Jim supposed that there was something in Ed’s eyes when he called him _Jim_ that implied he was falling in love. Or perhaps he already was. All that Jim knew, was that when he was the one to say it, Ed’s features had lit up in a way Jim had never seen it before.

Before he knew it, Jim felt like a man on a mission, always trying to figure out what might bring those happy glints of excitement in Ed’s eyes. 

He had noticed something new when Ed had stared perhaps a little too long had a green suit when they had been walking downtown. Ed hadn’t said a word or asked to look at it, but Jim nonetheless noted what store, what street. The next week, he had managed to get it in Ed’s size, having it wrapped for a special occasion. It was a great coincidence that it happened to be Ed’s birthday, and Jim took the opportunity.

Ed had grinned so brightly when he opened the box, an excited gasp even leaving his lips. 

“Happy birthday, Ed,” Jim smiled. 

“How did you know?” Ed asked, looking up at him. 

“Saw you looking at it the other day,” Jim explained, “I went to get it after.”

Ed looked so happy. So excited. So in love. “You noticed. You always notice.”

Jim chuckled. “Yeah, I do.”

It scared Jim to think that in another universe, he wouldn’t notice any of it.


	3. pyrrhic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tags: season 3, episode 3x17, court of owls, regret, guilt, moral angst, reminiscing, pov jim gordon

>   _; won at too great a cost._
> 
> && ——

He was in. 

He was in the Court of Owls. 

But at what cost? Even if Kathryn told him she’d give Ed something to do and —  _thank god_ — not kill him, Jim knew he had offered Ed up like a piece of meat, giving him up to the very people who had killed his father. Who had driven his uncle to suicide. Who had a weapon to destroy Gotham. 

He knew, _he knew_  the Court of Owls would have found Ed one way or another because of the commotion he caused. _He knew_ , that by doing this, he was ensuring at the very least a place in the Court, which was in turn the only way to save Gotham from whatever wrath the Court had planned. 

It still didn’t make it any easier.

Jim had tried so hard to detach himself from Ed, from the pain Ed had caused him, from the tormenting guilt Jim felt towards everything that had happened between the two of them, and most importantly, what _hadn’t_ happened (and probably should have). Jim too often mused about how he might have been able to help Ed, to stop the path he had started to take, if he had paid more attention, if he had—

But it was too late. He knew, _oh he knew_ his lame attempt at reminiscing about the past when Ed still was the Ed Jim knew was not going to work, or change anything. Still, when he had sat alone in that car, waiting for Kathryn to arrive, it was all Jim could think about. The past. When life had been so much easier. 

When Ed was still the eager, fascinated forensic examiner who fed him riddles. Riddles, which, somehow, Jim always had the answer to. 

Jim was nostalgic about a past he should have paid more attention to, but didn’t. He could pretend all he wanted that he had moved on from that, but so many things about it he knew he would never be able to move on from.

Because no matter how he had started calling him _Nygma_ to Harvey, to Lucius, to anyone else at the precinct—the moment he talked to Ed, he had already reverted to _Ed_. 

When it came to that, it didn’t matter what Ed had done, or what he would do in the future if he made it out of the Court of Owls (and Jim hoped he would). It didn’t matter who Ed had become, who he wanted others to call him. It didn’t matter that everyone now knew him as the Riddler.

To Jim, it would always be _Ed_.


End file.
